The player appeared close to a move to Barcelona during the World Cup and his father, also named Juan Mata, admits the Catalans were interested in a deal for his son.

"With Barcelona it was the club that closed the doors to a possible exit," he told Radio Nou in Valencia. "In the last meeting I told them (Valencia) that they (Barcelona) had asked me how much he (Mata) would cost, but the president told me they had no interest in selling him."

After that, Mata senior had expected his son's contract to be renewed.

"It's true that there has been interest (from Barcelona) and normally when that happens, the club renews your contract or sells you, but they haven't done one thing or the other, which is not very normal," he said.

Valencia claim Mata has three years still left on his contract, but the player and his father believe only two remain.

"That was a problem from last year. There was a proposal which included one more year and we didn't think the offer was good, so we didn't accept that year, which means there are only two years left on his contract," Mata senior said.

Mata says his son is happy at Valencia, where he is a fans' idol, but claims he is not receiving the treatment he deserves from the club.

"My son is thrilled to be in Valencia because of the recognition he gets from the fans. In the streets and everywhere he goes, he's an idol. But that is not combined with the (correct) attitude and recognition on behalf of the club," he said.